As I was reading “Address to the De’il” by Robert Burns, I couldn't help but be struck by the fact that he immediately starts the poem off with a
reference from Paradise Lost. I knew
that this poem would be an address to the devil (as the title implies), and it
was interesting to me that the devil from Paradise
Lost was the one that Burns chose to relate his devil to. I remember
reading Paradise Lost and thinking
that the devil Milton portrays was one that was completely different than the
devil that religion/Christianity portrays. I had found Milton’s devil to be
almost like a human. He was an antagonist whose evil schemes were fueled by
pain and jealousy. He almost seemed like he had a hint of a heart at times. He
would have moments where he would look at the Garden of Eden and almost start
to admire its beauty and start to miss it. These little things made readers
almost feel sorry for him and maybe even relate to him. So when I noticed that
Burns mention him in his poem, it made me think that maybe that is the way that
he views the devil as well. The mood of the poem did not come off as dark and
creepy as I would expect a poem about the devil to be. I came off as if Burns
was almost indifferent towards the devil and it is slightly in a light-hearted
and cheery manner. This is what makes me wonder if maybe this poem is Burns way
of saying that he may related to the devil, in some weird and twisted way.
The Paradise Lost quote/reference caught my eye initially too. I liked reading that book, and so I was interested to figure out why Burns referenced it at the very beginning. I don’t think the Satan from Paradise Lost is the same devil Burns was writing about though. I felt like he was more or less indirectly whaling on Calvanists and their attitudes/theology. In Paradise Lost, the Devil is tied to more human like dimensions and emotions. I think Burns’s devil is more of an indirect attack on the theological approach to humans and nature. I also felt like an overall cheeriness in this poem was present. But I think Burns was trying to use this seemingly cheerful vibe in a satiric way towards the Calvanists, kind of like being over nice to someone with a hidden sarcastic edge to it. Either way though, and at the end of the day, I did enjoy reading “Address the De’il”.
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